Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner...

[sipafz]

Started our 4th day with a breakfast of champions, banana cream pie and a cappuccino:



Left Williams and headed to Flagstaff and Highway 89A to the bottom of Oak Creek Canyon. The drive was amazing and when the DOT suggests 10 miles per hour for a corner, you best listen! Made a stop at the DQ and managed to get another shot of the JL:



A short time later, we arrived in Sedona:



We drove the Red Rock Loop and got some nice pictures:







And visited one of the vortex sites:





After a late lunch it was time to hit the road and get checked into the hotel in Phoenix. The JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort and Spa is pretty fancy! Not my usual thing, but it will work:

 

[WJCO]

Nice pics. Looks like a great trip so far.

 

[USMC Wrangler]

Very nice! Looks like you guys missed a bit of excitement today at GC.

https://kvoa.com/news/local-news/20...man-dies-after-falling-into-the-grand-canyon/

 

[jdofmemi]

Started our 4th day with a breakfast of champions, banana cream pie and a cappuccino:

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Left Williams and headed to Flagstaff and Highway 89A to the bottom of Oak Creek Canyon. The drive was amazing and when the DOT suggests 10 miles per hour for a corner, you best listen! Made a stop at the DQ and managed to get another shot of the JL:

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A short time later, we arrived in Sedona:

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We drove the Red Rock Loop and got some nice pictures:

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And visited one of the vortex sites:

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After a late lunch it was time to hit the road and get checked into the hotel in Phoenix. The JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort and Spa is pretty fancy! Not my usual thing, but it will work:

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Looks like you are having a Grand time

Very nice! Looks like you guys missed a bit of excitement today at GC.

https://kvoa.com/news/local-news/20...man-dies-after-falling-into-the-grand-canyon/

Dang. I hate to hear that. Seems like not only the millennials that don't pay enough attention.

 

[sipafz]

Nice pics. Looks like a great trip so far.

Having a blast! Good call to suggest Sedona! We avoided the tourist trap and skirted around the downtown area. It’s a beautiful area!

Very nice! Looks like you guys missed a bit of excitement today at GC.

https://kvoa.com/news/local-news/20...man-dies-after-falling-into-the-grand-canyon/

Oof, glad we missed that! Not entirely surprising though. We saw plenty of people standing on the walls talking selfies. We even saw one girl doing yoga poses on the wall. I just don’t get it!

Looks like you are having a Grand time[emoji106]

We are! Should be some good memories not only for my wife and I, but my teenage daughter too.

 

[wjtstudios]

What a great trip! Looks like you guys are having a blast. Amazing area down there!


Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app

 

[sipafz]

To finish off our trip, we spent a day at what looked to be a new entertainment complex that included a pretty terrific aquarium on the outskirts of Scottsdale, shopping in Old Scottsdale and dinner at the Yard House.

On the last day we took a morning drive to Cave Creek and did a little shopping before heading back to the airport and to Wisconsin.

In between those days we took a road trip Southeast to the Apache Trail and the Superstition Mountains. The entire loop is around 120 miles. We chose to do an out and back that covered 60 miles from Apache Junction to Apache Vista View. We started with some nice views:







Canyon Lake:





Tortilla Flat and some Prickly Pear Ice Cream:





On the way to Fish Creek. Finally found some dirt:





Down the tight canyon road:



Fish Creek in view:



At the bottom of the canyon:



The little white spec is a truck making the trip down the canyon road:



After traveling another 10 miles we turned back and headed back up the canyon road:











I had a great time and my kid got some good laughs as Mom freaked out a bit on the narrow canyon road. The best was the blind corners and the occasional backing up to let others vehicles by.

Now that our trip is finished and we are back home, I can’t help but think that this trip was just the first of many. It definitely seemed to be one of the shortest weeks of my life!

 

[USMC Wrangler]

To finish off our trip, we spent a day at what looked to be a new entertainment complex that included a pretty terrific aquarium on the outskirts of Scottsdale, shopping in Old Scottsdale and dinner at the Yard House.

On the last day we took a morning drive to Cave Creek and did a little shopping before heading back to the airport and to Wisconsin.

In between those days we took a road trip Southeast to the Apache Trail and the Superstition Mountains. The entire loop is around 120 miles. We chose to do an out and back that covered 60 miles from Apache Junction to Apache Vista View. We started with some nice views:

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Canyon Lake:

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Tortilla Flat and some Prickly Pear Ice Cream:

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On the way to Fish Creek. Finally found some dirt:

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Down the tight canyon road:

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Fish Creek in view:

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At the bottom of the canyon:

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The little white spec is a truck making the trip down the canyon road:

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After traveling another 10 miles we turned back and headed back up the canyon road:

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I had a great time and my kid got some good laughs as Mom freaked out a bit on the narrow canyon road. The best was the blind corners and the occasional backing up to let others vehicles by.

Now that our trip is finished and we are back home, I can’t help but think that this trip was just the first of many. It definitely seemed to be one of the shortest weeks of my life!

It definitely looks like you really used your time well and got to experience a lot. [emoji1303] Glad you and yours made it home safely!

If/when you make it back, come down to Cochise County. There is a lot of cool history and great views down here too. Tombstone is one of my many favorites, not far from my house.

 

[sipafz]

It definitely looks like you really used your time well and got to experience a lot. [emoji1303] Glad you and yours made it home safely!

If/when you make it back, come down to Cochise County. There is a lot of cool history and great views down here too. Tombstone is one of my many favorites, not far from my house.

Thanks, I think that we covered a lot of ground. I was pretty happy that we got out for a few road trips even though it’s not my wife’s thing.

I would definitely like to return. I feel that I have unfinished business at the Grand Canyon and would like to hike to the bottom someday.

Sounds like our next couple of trips are going to be to Europe. We are planning a Mediterranean Cruise for my daughters graduation followed by a trip to Spain to hike a section of the “French Way” to Santiago de Compostela.

After those trips I hope to make it out West again. Thanks for the invite!

 

[Jsouder53]

Glad to hear that you had a wonderful safe trip! You guys made some great memories too I’m sure [emoji106]